Mayberry/World Food Bar Owner to open Urban Grocery Store

by

Julie Niesen

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September 22, 2010

As a bunch of local Twitter folks were discussing urban grocery stores on Twitter yesterday, The Enquirer ran a development blog post discussing the opening of a new urban grocery store in the Central Business District. This store, called Mayberry Foodstuffs according to the Business Courier, will be open til 10 PM 7 days a week, and carry a wide array of grocery items, including basics like milk and eggs and some deli items you might also find at Findlay Market. It’ll be located at 7th and Main, within walking distance of built-in audiences like students at Antonelli College and the new condos cropping up on Walnut, and also convenient for other urban core dwellers.

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am about this. Truth be told, I love Findlay Market, but its hours are not conducive to shopping if you work a 9-5 job. Though it is open from 9-6 Tuesdays-Friday, I’ve found that many of the vendors are closing up shop well before the 6 PM close, which means that if I (and others, if you read the twitter stream #urbangrocery) rush from work to get to Findlay, we can often find the shops we need to visit closed, which is frustrating and doesn’t make me what to continue to shop there. Of course, I can shop there on Saturdays and Sundays, but I prefer to not lug home a week’s worth of groceries; I like to purchase my food as I need it.

Sure, we have the Kroger on Vine, though the Kroger Corporation hasn’t quite realized that there is a growing population literally right outside its world headquarters. Its selection is limited, as well as their hours, and is really more of a glorified convenience store that carries some vegetables and fruit. Other grocery chains that have urban stores in other cities, like Whole Foods, haven’t invested since there are only about 9,000 people living in the CBD/OTR area. Both Cianciolo’s and Avril-Bleh carry a limited amount of groceries, but are closed by 5 PM on weekdays. I’m so glad that a local businessperson is taking a risk– and plan on making his store a regular stop in my errands.